THE CURRENCY IN Australia is comedy. We rely on it, we use it in every situation, we convert everything into it. The only television programs that become part of our long-term cultural identity are comedies – Graeme Kennedy’s In Melbourne Tonight, The Mavis Bramston Show, The Comedy Company, The D Generation, Kath and Kim. Light dramas like Neighbours do not enter the collective unconscious in the same powerful way as do these comedies.

We are avid for humour, we tell jokes, we are witty, we discuss Rove around the water cooler and we are delighted when we find a funny film that connects strongly with us. We feel that it unites us with acquaintances and relatives.